Pancake turner



March M), W36. l J. IMSCHWEILER.. 2?@339635 PANCAK'E TURNER Filed May 8, 1934 Patented Mar. 10, 1936 UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE PANCAKE TURNER John lniscliweiler, Inglewood, Calif.

Application May v8,V 1934, Serial No. 724,510

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a Vpancake turner `'and has for its principal object, the provision of a relatively simple, practical and inexpensive utensil that may be conveniently employed and manipulated by one hand for turning pancakes and the like while the same are being cooked.

A further object of my invention is to provide a pancake turner of the class described having a rotating shaft that carries a thin plate or paddle,

l: said shaft being mounted for rotation in'- al. frame that is rigidly seated in a handleY and saidframe and shaft being provided with relatively simple means for imparting quick turning movement to the shaft and the plate or paddle carried thereby in order to turn the pancake or other product that is positioned on the plate or paddle.

With the foregoing and other objects in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a pancake turner constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of those parts of the pancake turner seen looking in the direction indicated by the arrow 2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a Vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the thumb actuated rack that is utilized for imparting rotary motion to the plate or paddle carrying shaft.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of my invention, I designates a rod or shaft on the forward end of which is mounted a plate or paddle of any desired size and shape but preferably at in order to conveniently engage and support a pancake or the like.

A frame I2 is formed from a single piece of strap metal, one end thereof being bent at right angles and perforated to form a bearing I3 for shaft Ii) and the other end of the metal strap that forms the frame is extended to form an elongated prong |4 that is driven lengthwise into and rigidly seated in one end of a suitable handle I5.

A portion of the metal strap that forms the frame between the main body portion thereof and the prong I4 is bent at right angles as designated by I6 and formed in this bent portion is an aperture I'I that forms a bearing for the end of shaft I0.

Rgidly fixed in any suitable manner upon shaft I0, immediately adjacent to the bent portion I6 of the frame, is a pinion I8.

A pin or rivet I9 is, seated in frame I2 adjacent to the laterally bent end I3 and mounted on said rivet is a short sleeve or bushing lila. Journaled on the end of this bushing, opposite from the end that is seated in the frame |2, is one end of an arm 2E) that occupies a positionbetween frame I2 and that portion of shaft I0 loe-l tween the laterally bent portions I3 and I6 of the frame.

Mounted on the bushing |921, isV the coiled portion of a spring 2 I, one end thereof being formed into a hook 22 that engages one edge of frame I2 and the opposite end of this spring is formed into a hook 23 that engages the intermediate portion of arm 20.

Carried by the free end of arm 20, is an arcuate plate 24, provided on one edge with teeth 25 that engage the teeth of pinion I 8.

The upper end of arcuate plate 24 is bent laterally outwardly away from the shaft I Il to form a thumb engaging pressure plate 26 and the opposite end of said plate 24 is bent laterally to form a stop 2'! that normally engages against the under edge of frame I2.

Under normal conditions the spring 2| holds arm 20 and toothed plate 24 in the positions as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, with stop 21 engaging the lower edge of frame I2.

A portion of the frame I2 is bent inwardly toward shaft I0 to form a bearing and guide 28 against which the arcuate plate 24 bears during its swinging movement from one position to another.

In the manipulation of my improved pancake turner the handle l5 is grasped in the hand and the plate II on the forward end of shaft I0 is positioned beneath the pancake that is to be turned.

The operator now applies pressure with the thumb on plate 26 so as to swing arm and arcuate plate 24 downward against the resistance offered by spring 2| and the engagement of the teeth 25 with the teeth of pinion I8 imparts rotary movement to said pinion and to the shaft l0 to which said pinion is fixed.

Thus shaft I0 is partially rotated so as to turn plate upside down, thereby quickly turning the cake that is carried by said plate.

As pressure of the thumb upon plate 26 is released, spring 2| will return arm 20 and the toothed plate 24 to their normal positions.

The swinging movement of arm 20 and toothed plate 24 in both directions is limited by the laterally bent end portions of said toothed plate which function as stops to engage the edges of the frame l2.

During the. swinging movement of the toothed plate, the same engages bearing 28 and thus said toothed plate is held in proper position with respect to the pinion I8 during its movement in both directions.

The plate carrying shaft I0 is held against lengthwise movement to the handle l5 by the pinion I8 that is fixed to said shaft and it is held against lengthwise movement in the opposite direction by the engagement of the teeth of said pinion against the toothed edge of arcuate plate 24.

The device as illustrated and described is designed to be used in the right hand and in the event that it is desired to provide a device for left-hand use, it is only necessary to reverse the position of the arm 20 and arcuate plate and bend the pressure plate 26 and stop plate 21 in the opposite direction from that shown in the drawing so that when operated by the left hand, said plates 26 and 2l will engage the frame l0 to function as stops.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a pancake turner that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

In some instances the plate or paddle Il may be cup-shaped so that the utensil may be used for dipping various food products such as ice cream, mashed vegetables and the like.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved pancake turner may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described wthout departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A pancake turner, comprising a, handle, a onepiece C-shaped frame having parallel end members, a prong projecting from the end of one of said members, which prong is seated in one end of said handle, the parallel end members of said frame being provided with bearings, a shaft journaled in said bearings, a food engaging member carried by the outer end of said shaft, a pinion fixed on said shaft adjacent the bearing that is located adjacent the handle, an arm pivoted to the frame adjacent the other bearing, an arcuate toothed rack carried by said arm, the teeth of which rack engage the teeth of said pinion, a spring arranged between said frame and arm for yieldingly resisting swinging movement of the arm in one direction, a pressure plate projecting from one end of said toothed rack, a. stop projecting from the other end of said rack, and a bearing projecting from the intermediate member of said frame, which bearing is engaged by the toothed rack during its swinging movement.

JOHN IMSCHWEILER. 

